Birmingham Bowl Auburn vs. Memphis Picks & Predictions
By Anthony Rome
The line is moving away from Memphis but the underdog Tigers should cover the spread today versus Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl at 12:00PM ET.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, Memphis is a 4.5-point underdog versus Auburn after opening as a 2.5-point dog. As for the total, the number opened at 64 but has been bet down to 63.
Auburn enters play with a 6-6 record but finished the regular season with a 3-9 mark against the spread. Memphis was successful both straight up (9-3) and against the spread, finishing with an ATS record of 6-5-1. With the success Memphis had this season, it's no surprise that 63% of bettors are currently backing Paxton Lynch and Co. today.
The Pick
Memphis will be without the man that led them to a successful season, as head coach Justin Fuente accepted the Virginia Tech job in late November. While former Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell was hired to replace Fuente, interim coach Darrell Dickey will guide Memphis today.
The loss of Fuente shouldn't sway bettors away from taking Memphis today. When it comes to bowl games, bettors like to take the SEC over any other conference but Memphis had no problems dealing with Ole Miss back in October and will also have the best player on the field in quarterback Paxton Lynch. With Lynch trying to impress pro scouts one last time, look for him to relentlessly attack an Auburn defense that surrendered 421.8 yards per game this season.
Defensively, Memphis did finish 116th in the nation in passing yards allowed per game, but Auburn has been highly inconsistent offensively this season. Perhaps an extra month of preparation allowed Gus Malzahn to clean up some of the issues that plagued his team this season. But there's still a good possibility the same problems that occurred over the past four months will hamper Auburn again today.
BIRMINGHAM BOWL FREE PICK: MEMPHIS TIGERS +4.5